


Twenty-Six Weeks

by vmprsm



Series: Twenty-Six Weeks [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Housemates, M/M, i can't say much else it'll give it all away, not smutty, sorry bout that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 07:35:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6973354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vmprsm/pseuds/vmprsm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two mature adults need to do two things: live an a house with a stranger for six months, and keep their secrets to themselves. How hard could that be?<br/>Apparently very.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty-Six Weeks

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [二十六周 | Twenty-Six Weeks (Chinese translation)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7820077) by [MrFrame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrFrame/pseuds/MrFrame)



When they first moved in together, via a Facebook post from a friend of a friend, Hux rolled his eyes at Kylo and Kylo gave Hux a deadpan glare. It was only for six months, an in-between for Hux’s last semester of university and Kylo’s internship.

It didn't much matter. They didn't have to be friends, they simply had to respect one another's space for twenty-six weeks. Easy.

Rather, it would have been if Ren hadn't dropped Hux’s state of the art cooler off the truck they had agreed to split the bill for. Kylo thought it was petty revenge that Hux, not an hour later, spilled Kylo’s drink all over a stack of Kylo’s strange books. Hux would swear it was an accident, and why did he keep open drinks around during a move-in anyways, but the damage was done and they both resolved not to deal with the other any more than they had to.

-

_Two weeks_

“Kylo,” called Hux from the single bathroom, voice tight, “why is there a pile of hair in the drain?” It was black and coarse and made the bathroom smell vaguely musty, like damp earth.

“Showered, I went for a run.”

There was a forest behind their small two bedroom one bath house, they sat at the end of a dead end road and a poorly kept desire path snaked into the forest practically from their back porch. Hux thought it was unnecessarily rustic, Kylo said it was part of the reason he wanted the house.

“Yes, well, I don't much care just clean it out.” Christ, the hair was a mess, black as night and clogging the drain and even spattered across the tile walls. It was like he had shaved his head in there. 

“Mhm” replied Kylo. He didn't.

-

_Three weeks_

“Kylo!” bellowed Hux, storming in from the garage. They didn't use it for their cars, Kylo had a workbench with various tools strewn across it, and Hux had his (new) cooler tucked against a corner and practically a small storage unit’s worth of packed plastic containers. Kylo hadn't bothered to ask what was in them. 

“Yes?” Kylo answered, dropping his head backwards off the back of the couch that he seemed to be lounging on constantly when he didn't disappear for one reason or another. 

“Why is the breaker off for the garage.” Hux seethed, clenching his fists rhythmically. 

“Because it wastes money and I pay for half the utilities?”

"I need it on. That cooler isn't for show.”

“What's so important about it?” 

“None of your business, just leave the power on in there.”

Kylo sat up, turning around on the leather cushion. “That thing added thirty dollars to our bill last month.”

"I don't care. I’ll pay for it. Stop touching things without asking.”

Kylo got up from the couch, revealing his running shorts and worn looking sneakers on his feet. Hux tried very hard not to jump into a tirade about having shoes on in the house or the furniture. The couch was technically Kylo's. 

Kylo walked by Hux, pausing briefly as he was about to pass. They brushed shoulders as he said “It's my house too, why don't you ask me next time.” and he was out the garage door Hux had come through, leaving it open in his wake.

Hux closed it with a slam.

-

_Six weeks_

“Kylo, there's an enormous package outside for you and I'm not dragging it in on my own.” Hux was flipping through the mail he’d pulled from the box by their door, and grabbed the doorknob to Kylo's room absentmindedly. He knew the menace was home, he’d seen him come in from a run not two hours ago. Hux had left at 6pm for class, seen the package, and when he returned it was still at the door.

He turned the knob and heard a thump from inside the room and a short cry of pain. He opened the door quickly. “What the hell?”

Kylo was sprawled out in the middle of his floor, awkwardly twisted to hold his shoulder, and legs tangled in themselves awkwardly. He gave Hux an accusatory glare.

“Haven’t you heard of knocking Hux? Christ.” He untangled his limbs and gingerly got up from the floor. One of his books, pages water damaged and faintly tinted pink from the lemonade spilled across them, sat open on the floor. From Hux’s angle, the characters scrawled on the page were indecipherable. 

Hux felt slightly bad, but only until he remembered the thousand dollars he’d spent on a new cooler. "I have, but I didn't think you'd be...what are you doing anyways?”

“Working out.” Kylo sounded defensive, and shut his book, replacing it on a bookshelf with the others. 

“Sure.” Hux was skeptical. “Either way come get this package, it’s going to rain soon.” 

“Yeah yeah I know,” Kylo grumbled.

-

The package had been an above ground fire pit that Kylo installed in what grassy area they had in their backyard. He had cleared out a space and circled it with dark stones he said he found in the forest, and the pit itself was a dark grey shaped like a gourd. He had also done all this without asking Hux, who had put down the security deposit for the house rather than fussing with moving money around with a man he’d never met. In retaliation, though he would never admit it, Hux played his classical music extra loudly for the next week when he knew Kylo was home, only turning it down incrementally when asked. 

-

_Seven weeks_

“Hey, where did you put my--”

Kylo pushed open the door to Hux’s bedroom and stopped short of the doorway when Hux let out a startled yelp. He peered in the room to see Hux sitting on the edge of the far side of his bed from the door, back turned and hunched over slightly. He demanded, without turning “Kylo! Get out!”

Kylo raised an eyebrow. “Hux are you masterbating?” He tried not to laugh.

“You moron, get out.” He hunched further.

“It’s whatever, we all do it but lock the door at least.”

“Kylo.” Hux seemed to be too embarrassed to even turn his head to look at Kylo.

Kylo laughed as he closed the door.

-

_Ten weeks_

“I’m starting to think we have a coyote in those woods.” Hux said from over his tablet, letting a piece of toast that supposedly was his breakfast go stale on the kitchen island as he read from the screen. 

“Why?” Kylo was on the floor, his full six plus feet of body stretched out and looking entirely too comfortable on the tile. Hux had given up asking him to stop, just tried to pay attention so he didn't trip over the weirdo. Kylo was like an unruly pet, he only did things when you didn't want him to and never listened to instruction. At least he did the dishes.

Hux glanced up from his news article. “Because I hear howling. It’s become more frequent the past few weeks.”

“That’s not a coyote, that's a wolf.”

“It can’t be a wolf, they aren't native here. There are coyotes.”

“It's not a coyote.” Kylo insisted, rolling onto his back and holding his phone above his face.

Hux sneered at him. “Don't you need to go to work?”

“No. It’s memorial day. They’re closed. Didn’t you realize you don't have class?”

Hux hadn't. He hadn't been going to class in weeks, opting to instead send all his work through email. 

As if reading his mind, Kylo said “Oh yeah, you spend all day inside on your laptop, of course you didn't. I’m surprised you haven’t died of vitamin D deficiency. Are you agoraphobic?”

“Putting aside your absolutely rude delivery of that question, no, I'm not. It is a waste of time to drive half an hour to the campus for an hour long class.”

“Sure, sure.” Kylo flipped himself up from the floor in an unnecessary display of physical ability. Hux saw the flat planes of his stomach as his t-shirt jumped. Despite his personality, he was an attractive specimen. They’d actually been getting on better than expected, after the dust settled and they learned each other's boundaries.

“Anyways, don't worry about the wolf.” Kylo said cryptically, “It’s alone and it won’t bother you.” He retreated to his room, leaving Hux puzzled in the kitchen. 

“It’s not a wolf.” Hux muttered, going back to his news.

-

_Twelve weeks_

“Could you warn me before you do that?” asked Kylo, looking somehow more miffed than when Hux had almost ruined his books. He loomed over Hux where he was seated in the sitting room at his desk, clicking idly through a quiz for class like he could do it in his sleep.

“Do what, Kylo?”

“Bring people home.” Kylo crossed his arms.

Oops. Hux had brought someone home last night, past midnight and they hadn't been quite as quiet as mice in their activities. Hux shrugged. “It was a single person and they are gone now. I didn't think it would bother you.”

“It does.” 

Hux turned in his chair to see Kylo turn swiftly and stomp out of the room, the effect of his departure somewhat spoiled by the carpeting.

-

It was awful, and Hux clapped a hand over his nose and mouth as he immediately went to the windows nearest him, leaving the front door wide open to the warm night.

He threw them open noisily and clicked on the ceiling fan to the highest speed, then moved to the kitchen to do the same. He had just yanked open the window over the sink when Kylo stepped out of his room.

“What are you doing?” 

Hux whirled on him, a hand towel now pressed over his mouth. “What are you doing? What the fuck is that smell!”

"I was just cleaning.”

“Like hell you were, were you cleaning with sulphur?”

“Sage, actually. Clears out bad energy.”

“Are you fucking-” Hux shut his mouth quickly, eyes widening slightly. "I have to get out, I think I'm allergic. I’ll be back in two days. Don’t ever do this again.” He said the words in a clipped tone and rushed out of the house, Kylo's confused stare following him. 

-

“Sorry, Hux. I didn't know you had smoke allergies.”

"I have food and plant allergies too. Just don't go burning random crap without telling me first.”

“Are you okay?” Kylo was showing more concern than Hux expected, following him about the house as Hux put away his shopping. Somehow they kept running out of cleaning supplies all at the same time.

"I'm fine. I just couldn’t keep breathing it. I left before a reaction could truly set in.” he shifted uncomfortably as Kylo watched him closely. “Could you leave me alone? I’m fine.”

"I know it’s just,” Kylo looked at him critically, like he was a research project, “I've never heard of anyone with an allergy to burnt sage. You’re a weird guy. Are you allergic to sun too?”

Hux stiffened up. “Very polite Kylo, thank you. I go outside plenty when you aren’t home. If you’d like to apologize properly, you can pay for the hotel room I had to spend two nights in.”

“No way!”

-

_Fifteen weeks_

Hux stared as Kylo puttered around the kitchen, the smell of eggs and steak wafting to his nose. 

It wasn't the food that was catching his attention. It was Kylo's lack of clothes. He was clad only in form fitting boxer briefs and Hux's eyes kept trailing up and down the line of hair under his belly button, after they had blankly stared at his chest for a good thirty seconds. 

“You're not usually awake at this time.” Kylo said conversationally, expertly flipping the eggs. “Want some eggs?”

“No.” Hux replied, crinkling his nose. He rubbed his eyes, glaring at the early morning light through the kitchen window. He stood firmly in the shadow of the hallway. “Do you always cook in the nude?”

“I’m not nude.” Kylo gave him a sly smile that said he knew the effect he was having. “Late night?”

Hux sighed. “Exam.”

“Glad I'm done with that,” Kylo said, shuffling the steak onto a plate, “Midterms?”

Hux nodded. 

“You sure you don't want eggs? Pans still hot.”

"I'm sure.” Hux gave him a quizzical look. 

Kylo shrugged, picking up his plate and shuffling over to the couch. Hux's eyes tracked his torso and lingered on his back. He started shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he could get it on the fork and through his bites said, “You wanna go on a walk with me?”

“What?” Hux had taken to leaning heavily on the frame where the hallway met the living room. His eyes drooped. 

“A walk. In the forest. I've made the path easier to navigate, and the weather doesn't get any better than this.”

Hux paused long enough for Kylo to turn back to make sure he was still awake. “When? Why?” he realized that he had switched the order of his questions, and scowled faintly.

Kylo shrugged again. “Morning or evening, I work 9-5. You may like it.”

Hux let his eyes closed and mumbled, “Sure, after 6.” He seemed to float away from Kylo and back into his room. 

-

Apparently, tired Hux agreed to things that awake Hux would not. He bitched the whole half hour as he was getting ready, putting on truly ridiculous boots that were not suited for the outdoors, jeans, and a longsleeved shirt that looked like it belonged in a board room, not the strange little patch of trees behind their house. 

“If you really don't want to go you can say no,” Kylo said as he slipped on hiking boots. 

Hux ignored him, preferring to whine about the thing he had agreed to. As they stepped out the sun was a dim orange ball far the the west, slipping behind the other houses. They turned away from it towards the forest and Hux gestured. “Lead the way.”

“It's only a single path,” Kylo sighed, but went ahead. A few meters into the trees the path had been widened enough to let them walk side by side, with the stark white and tan innard of small cut tree trunks and plants standing out vividly against the low light. 

Kylo looked at Hux, eyes roving over his profile as they walked at a leisurely pace, arms brushing occasionally. 

“If you’d like to speak to me, you don't have to stare and wait for me to notice.” Hux said, a slight smile quirking the corner of his mouth that Kylo could see. 

"I just,” Kylo started, then paused, “If you start having a reaction to anything, let me know. There's a lot of weird plants out here.”

Hux looked confused for a moment, then sucked in a little breath. “Oh, yes, well I should be alright. Usually I have to touch or ingest it. You should stop worrying about it, I’m extremely well accustomed to living with it.”

Kylo frowned a little, then looked back towards the path. After a few minutes he started talking slowly, telling Hux about some of the plants around them, and when they saw birds Hux would describe them and Kylo would tell him what species it was.

“You have really good eyesight.”

“Makes up for the allergies.” Hux gave him a wry smile. “Speaking of...what’s that?”

Kylo looked past Hux to where his eyes had been drawn. He swallowed. "I don't see anything.”

"I do. It doesn't look natural.” He made to step off the path and Kylo grabbed his wrist.

“It’s getting dark. We should go back. Besides, it’s not safe to go off the path.”

Hux rolled his eyes. I’ll be fine. I want to know what it is.”

“It’s probably just something someone abandoned out here, like a couch or something. People are like that.” Kylo's voice creeped towards irritated. He didn't let go of Hux’s wrist.

Hux turned fully towards Kylo and gave him a searching look. “Why are you nervous?”

"I'm not. I mean, I don't want you to get hurt. I’d have to carry your dumb ass back to the house.”

“Are you concerned for my well being?”

Kylo looked away. "I don't know. I guess.”

“That’s strange.” Hux said and visibly held in a laugh at Kylo's offended expression, “But sweet. But I can handle anything in these woods.”

Kylo's expression became more guarded. “How do you know?”

“Because I do. Trust me.”

-

_Eighteen weeks_

Hux and Kylo spent more time together as weeks passed, and neither seemed to know what to make of it. Hux still holed up in his room most of the day, a Kylo still worked Monday through Friday, but sometimes Hux was up early to sit with Kylo at breakfast, and Kylo stayed up on weekends when Hux was home to watch television or talk. They talked mostly about their work, or what they had been doing prior. Kylo would talk, with little detail, about where he grew up: in the mountains north of their current location, in a rustic cottage with his parents. Hux learned Kylo was homeschooled until college, which went a ways to explaining his strange personality and tendency towards a lack of clothing, but college seemed to have righted him some. 

Kylo learned very little about Hux. He was finishing his Ph.D, and then he was going to move somewhere north, probably somewhere very cold. Hux would talk about the music he liked, or the places he’d been, but not the context behind those choices. He frustrated Kylo, but Kylo would always come back when Hux was out of his room.

They never asked about the others habits, odd as they appeared.

One evening, as they sat on the couch, Hux with his leg tucked beneath him and Kylo sprawled out sideways with their shoulders pressing together, Kylo asked “Are you gay, Hux?”

Hux laughed. “You are as blunt as a hammer. Are you?”

Kylo scowled, but didn't move from his close proximity. “Yeah. And you brought a man home, I could tell by the voice.”

Hux looked surprised. “Were you listening?”

“No!” Red slowly colored in Kylo's cheeks, mixing well with the sunkissed hue of his skin, "I mean the walls aren't that thick. I didn't have much of a choice.”

“Oh.” Hux almost looked embarrassed. “My apologies.”

“Whatever. It's over.”

They sat in silence for a minute before Hux broke it. “To answer you...no. I'm bisexual, or whatever funny word they use these days to describe people who are attracted to more than one gender. It doesn't matter much to me, though I mostly prefer people born male.”

Kylo didn't reply, and they ended up watching some action movie in a slightly strained but companionable silence. 

-

“Kylo.” 

Kylo looked up from his workbench, where he was holding a woodburner and a vividly white piece of wood. “Hm?” 

"I'm bringing someone home tonight. I apologize for the short notice, but if you'd like to stay out tonight.” he didn't frame it as a demand, leaving it open for Kylo to make his decision.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

Kylo put the burner down on its stand. Hux couldn’t read whatever runes he'd been carving on the wood. They were a dark brown black and extremely precise in design.

“Why are you bringing someone home?”

Hux looked vaguely amused. “Because I want to? I’m pretty sure you know what I’m bringing them for.”

“Do you know who you’re bringing? Are they a friend?”

“Are you my mother? No, I don't. It doesn't matter, it's one night.”

“You could just-” Kylo broke off, crossing his arms over his broad chest. 

Hux raised an eyebrow, eyes sliding down the divots of muscles on Kylo's arms. “Could what?”

“Could…” Kylo looked at Hux and tilted his head diagonally a bit. “Stay home. I, you don't need to bring me home.”

Hux blinked several times. “You want to,”

“It’s just a suggestion.”

Hux looked him up and down, clenched his jaw, swallowed, and said “Do you swear not to bitch like last time?”

Kylo didn't answer, just swooped down to kiss him. Hux grabbed onto his arms in surprise, and melted slightly into him. They kissed leisurely, but after Hux opened his mouth Kylo pulled away. 

“What?” Hux asked, looking petulant. 

Kylo's eyebrows were drawn together. “Why do you taste like blood?”

Hux gripped his arms tighter for a moment. “Do I? I was writing earlier, I have a tendency to chew my cheek at times. I don't even notice anymore. I don't have any blood diseases.”

"I wouldn’t think you would.” Kylo replied, still looking confused. 

Hux seemed to force a smile. “It’s fine. Now, my room or yours?”

-

_Twenty-one weeks_

Hux knocked sharply on Kylo's door. There was the sound of metallic clinking and something sliding against the floor with some resistance, and the door opened. 

“What’s up?”

Their sex had been fantastic. So much so that they had gone at it at some time every day for almost a week. Then Hux had needed to prepare for his dissertation presentation, and they had needed to lay off for several days at a time. Kylo spent almost every waking moment at home when he wasn’t working, and Hux spent entire days in his room. Kylo didn't even notice him leave for food or to use the bathroom. In fact, he hadn't seen Hux in the past day and a half.

“Are you hiding a dog?”

Kylo's eyes widened comically. “A what?”

Hux let out an impatient little huff. “A dog. The shower is covered in hair again, and it doesn't seem reasonable to believe it’s you. We can’t have pets according to the lease, so if you do you need to board it until at least I move out. I want my security deposit back, Kylo.”

“It’s me.”

“Don't lie, Kylo, I understand the desire for a dog since you’re outside running so much, but-”

Kylo gripped the door harder. “Its me. I shave in there. Sorry.” 

Hux gave him a deadpan stare. “Let me see your room.” They had sex the first time in Hux's immaculate and minimal bedroom, on his king sized bed that took up a majority of the space. Other times had been scattered around the house including the bedroom and, memorably, one time during early morning in the forest. He had never seen Kylo's room past the one time he’d barged in. 

“No.” Kylo said, “There's no dog.”

Hux looked him straight in the eyes. “Let me in.”

Kylo looked pained a moment, then smoothed his face out. “Not now. It’s a mess. I swear to you there's no dog.”

The look on Hux's face said he didn't believe Kylo one bit, but he let it go. 

\- 

Letting go of a problem for the moment was easy when you could just get the facts yourself later. He jimmied the lock once more, and the door to Ren’s room clicked open softly.

What did he even lock his door for? Hux asked himself as he walked in with no regard for privacy. He got to the desk and stopped, seeing it strewn with all manner of natural items. Bones, hair, dried bits of skin, feathers, dried plants, little bottles of liquids, vials of what looked like dirt. From his ceiling fan hung a mobile of teeth, mostly animal but some were questionable omnivores, with a shining disc of whitish metal in the middle, spinning gently in the breeze of the open window. The air had a heavy feeling, a resonance. He reached over to the bookshelf, pulling out a one of the half ruined books. As he opened it a chunk of black fur fell from between the pages. He looked at the page to see lines of runes and an illustration of a person, horridly disfigured as if in the middle of being torn apart by invisible beings.

“What the fuck, Kylo.” Hux muttered. Definitely not a dog.

-

The door was open when Kylo got home, late in the week and just after four. He’d been working overtime, and had come back early to surprise Hux, maybe drag him away from his desk for a good time. 

But the door was ajar, and Kylo's mental alarms went off. It was a hot day still, sun shining brutally with no cloud cover and the humidity climbing from recent spring rain, he began to sweat as he carefully climbed the few steps up to the door. 

Nothing looked severely out of place as he walked in, save for a chair at the island that had been overturned and lay almost directly across the path to the hall. The TV was there, along with the game console. Their appliances, all new, were untouched. 

“Hux?” he called, stepping over the chair and tensing his muscles to swing at a possible intruder as he stepped into the hall.

His door was closed, and with a little jiggle he found it still locked. He checked the sitting room at the end of the hall, finding it undisturbed. He stood listening quietly for a moment, and heard nothing. Approaching Hux's door, he tried not to let anxiety overtake him at the thought of the possible horror he might find behind it. He was being over reactive, maybe Hux had thought he closed the door, and the wind pushed it and the chair over. 

“Hux?” he called again, and set his hand on the knob. 

No answer, and he entered.

The room was cold. It was like he had stepped into nighttime, where the cool air left over from winter descended again upon the land. It was also very dark, blackout curtains pinned over the windows. He hadn't noticed them much, before, but now they were stuck to the walls carefully and obviously. The light from the hall helped him to discern a form on the bed, tightly tucked under the thin quilt. 

“Hux,” he said a third time, “Is that you?”

A little deep hum came from the bed. “Go away Kylo.”

“What happened?”

The form was entirely still. “Nothing. I just need to sleep.”

“I’ll stay here then.”

“No. Go away.”

"I'm not leaving, Hux, until I know you’re okay.” He stepped close to the bed, and suddenly Hux twisted around, throwing back the covers and reaching for him. 

He only got a glance of Hux’s face before scrambling away. It was deathly pale, and his eyes stood out like green fae fire. He snarled at Kylo, who jumped back and slipped right onto his ass. He hissed in pain as Hux pulled himself from the bed, and looked up again to find their faces very close. Hux was puffing freezing breath onto his lips, hands wavering between them. 

“Get out, Kylo.” he seemed to choke, and Kylo was pushed out of the room. 

-

_Twenty-two weeks_

Hux emerged days later, so far as Kylo could tell. He had been so anxious he'd kept to his own room unless he absolutely had to leave for one reason or another. He could neither make himself leave nor try to help Hux again. He called off work Monday and Tuesday begging the stomach flu. When Hux emerged, late Tuesday night, Kylo heard the telltale creak of the door opening and almost rushed from his room. 

Hux was in the kitchen, pulling down a dark leakproof travel cup that he liked to use. He was still pale, and seemed slow to move. "I'm going out.” he said to Kylo without looking at him, and shuffled to the garage door. Kylo noticed he was fully dressed, shoes and all.

“What? Hux? You’ve been sick, you can’t just go out. Where are you going?” Hux didn't answer him as he slipping through the garage door. Kylo followed him out to see Hux hovering by the cooler. 

“Talk to me, Hux.” Kylo asked, still for some reason reluctant to approach past the width of the room. 

"I'm fine.” 

“You aren’t!” 

Hux opened the cooler, and Kylo could only see brown paper bags. Hux pulled one out, holding it around the top, and tucked it under his arm. He closed it again, and Kylo heard the little click of the inner lock as Hux scrambled the spinner code. Then Hux, still ignoring him, went to the garage door to open it. Kylo followed, becoming visibly agitated. “Just stay here, Hux, I’ll go get whatever you want.” It sounded like a lie to both of them.

“You can’t.” Hux replied and pressed the button. 

“Dammit Hux, I can’t-” He retreated quickly until he was near the inner door again.

Hux gave him a strange look. “That’s right. I’ll be back tomorrow.” 

“Hux,” Kylo said again, looking forlorn. Hux ducked under the garage door as it rolled upwards, and Kylo disappeared back into the house before it finished. 

-

_Twenty-three weeks_

Hux hadn't been home for days and Kylo had enough. He was hiding something, maybe something with that cooler. Maybe he was terminally ill and didn't want anyone to know. Kylo needed to know. 

Getting the cooler open was easy. He pulled out one of the bags. He had assumed it was medication, or even alcohol, but the thing inside squished under his hands and he almost dropped it in surprise before he resolved to open the bag. 

The bag inside was opaque and stamped with a label that read A+ For allogeneic use and the address of the nearest major hospital. 

He dug down, pulling out at least thirty bags under he hit something else. Hearts, preserved in their own fluids, containers unmarked. Kylo was no expert, but they looked human.

“What the fuck, Hux.”

-

When Hux got home the garage door was still opened. Hux slowed his pace up the drive, coming in carefully through the gaping opening and finding the door into the house to be locked. He sighed a breath of relief, and unlocked it.

Kylo was sitting at the island and something was on the counter. Hux’s chest clenched in panic, writing itself over his features.

“Hi Hux. What’s this?”

He tapped the top of the hermetically sealed container, the organ inside barely peeking through the dark red liquid. 

“I…” Hux looked frantic. “You wouldn’t understand.”

"I don't think I would, no. You're going to school for medicine, right? I assume you have classes at the hospital. That's where these are from. Or are they from your victims?”

“Kylo it’s not-”

His poor attempt at explanation turned into a gasp of surprise and Kylo stood from his chair and started to melt away before Hux’s eyes. “It ends here.” he said, voice gone gruff and almost unable to be understood. His body went dark, and a sound of ripping cloth was all Hux could hang on to as real and mentally explainable before a black blur lunged for him. 

-

They lay on the floor in the sitting room, which looked at if a tornado had gone through it, panting and bleeding on the tile. 

“You’re a fucking werewolf.” 

“Technically incorrect.” 

“Mostly correct.” 

"I thought you were a serial killer.”

“Mostly incorrect.”

“Somewhat correct?”

Hux dropped his head to the side, looking into Kylo's deep brown eyes, blood threatening to snake down from his temple. "I do try not to.”

Kylo huffed out a laugh. "I think my ribs are cracked.”

“A couple.” Hux confirmed. “That’s the worst of it though. Had to snap you out of it somehow.” He'd slammed his palm into the chest of the beast and heard a crack, it collapsed and melted back into Kylo. Hux had collapsed next to him. 

“Pain was always a big distraction for me.” 

“That’s fair.” Hux was much worse off, claw marks littered his body and a particularly nasty bite engulfed his shoulder. 

“Can I treat you somehow?”

Hux twitched his unmangled shoulder and grimaced with discomfort. Kylo stared at his mouth. How had he not noticed his teeth before? “Not really. I'll get some bags from the cooler, it will heal on its own.” 

“Ah.” Kylo said shortly, and an uncomfortable silence descended. They lay like that for some time, before Hux hauled himself up to standing. 

“Come on, I’ll clean your wounds.”

Kylo allowed himself to be pulled from the floor with ease. “Sure you won’t eat me?” 

Hux rolled his eyes, then leaned up and licked the blood from Kylo’s chin. “Not unless you give me reason to.”

“I’ll try not to.” They made it through the doorway into the hall, but Hux paused before entering the bathroom, Kylo's arm over one shoulder. 

“We should close that door, the windows are shattered.”

"I got it.” There was a low thrum of energy, and the door closed.

Hux looked at him, “We do have a lot to talk about.” 

“We've got time. If you want to extend the lease?”

"I think that may be prudent.”

Kylo smiled at him, and Hux couldn't help but smile back.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow this was a fun distraction.  
> Say hi/ask questions at vmprsm.tumblr.com :>  
> Thanks to tezzypants for beta-ing my lazy writer ass.


End file.
